


we should get jerseys, 'cause we make a good team

by writtendlessly



Category: Sorted (Website) RPF
Genre: Accidental Coming Out, M/M, my fav kind of coming out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-18 17:11:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16999155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writtendlessly/pseuds/writtendlessly
Summary: James slips up in the middle of the video. Lots of blushing and mocking ensues.





	we should get jerseys, 'cause we make a good team

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy!

James is twenty minutes into a chef’s battle when it happens. He had started out with a great plan, but as time went on the pressure seemed to get to him and suddenly he was dropping eggs, burning sugar and, worst of all, his buttercream split. The constant reminders from Jamie about the remaining time only add to his frantic energy, to the point that he is so distracted he doesn’t even realize what he did until it’s too late.

One minute he’s desperately attempting to save his buttercream and the next he’s looking at Mike across the work station, asking, “Can you pass me that empty bowl, babe?”

Everyone on set stops except for James, who is still whisking away before finally noticing that a) he has no bowl and b) there is no noise except for the bubbling of Ben’s pots. He looks back up at Mike and sees him with his hand on the bowl, completely frozen and looking nervous. James stops whisking and looks behind him, where Barry and Jamie are staring at him in shock while Ben putters around his workstation and pretends to not care.

Another few seconds pass before Barry can’t contain it any longer, and he bursts out with a rather high-pitched, “ _What_ did you just say?!”

James cringes, his face and ears going red. Mike pulls his arm back from the bowl and steps backwards, wanting nothing more than to run away.

“Bay… leaf?” James tries, sounding uncertain even as he tries to convince the others. “Pass me that empty bowl and bay leaf.” 

“A bay leaf in a dessert, bold choice,” Jamie replies and that sets Barry off into a laughing fit, Jamie quickly following. Even Ben is smiling to himself.

“C’mon now,” Barry gets out between giggles, drawing his attention back to Mike. “Make sure you pass him that bowl, _babe_.”

Mike, ever the gentleman, passes the aforementioned bowl over, but not without a particularly nasty, “ _Fuck off_ ,” to Barry and Jamie.

“Ooh, baby’s got a temper,” Jamie taunts and Mike just might strangle him.

“Watch out James,” Barry adds. “Your sweetheart is a little feisty today.”

At the sound of his name, James seems to come back to reality. His buttercream was now so over-worked it was unsalvageable, and he is so embarrassed and uncomfortable he wants to forfeit and give Ben the win just to get out of this office. And possibly not come back for another ten years.

Jamie and Barry start exchanging ridiculous pet names back and forth (“Babycakes.” “Sweetcheeks.” “Love muffin!” “Mikey-poo!”) and James looks apologetically at Mike, mouthing a _sorry_ to him. Mike shakes his head in what James understands as an _it’s not your fault_ gesture and he can’t help but smile at him. Mike gives a small smile back.

It’s only when the boys start singing “James and Mike sitting in a tree” that Ben pipes up.

“Alright, children, settle down. We only have fifteen minutes left.”

“Actually,” Jamie checks his cell phone. “You only have ten.”

James looks down at the broken and pathetic elements of his dish in despair.

Mike sighs and mutters, “In for a penny, in for a pound,” before moving into the kitchen himself and trying his best to help. James is the chef, obviously, but Mike can at least take things off the hob and out of the fridge so that there is _something_ to present by the end of the video.

James smiles appreciatively at him and tries his best to resist giving any affectionate touches to the other man. (Although their fingers brush gently any time Mike hands something to him.) In the end, James has something that mildly resembles his original plan and Ben has a beautiful, winning dessert.

Barry and Jamie hold in their giggles until the outro, and Ben only just manages to finish the video before they burst out laughing once again. James bends over and rests his head on the counter in misery and Mike puts a hand on his shoulder, murmuring a soft, “They can cut it out.”

James makes a sad noise in response. The both of them know there’s no way to cut around the incident without ruining the entire video.

“Hey,” Ben says, his tone gentle and kind. “We can scrap the video if you want.”

Mike is opening his mouth to say _yes please, I would very much like that video to be deleted forever_ but James speaks up first, finally standing up straight again.

“No, it’s fine, put it up.”

Mike looks at him surprised and James looks back adding, “If that’s fine with you.”

There’s a moment of thought before Mike nods. “Yeah, just upload it.”

“Are you sure?” Ben furrows his brows a little as he looks between the two of them. “We don’t have to.”

“Just do it,” Mike responds. “Let’s just rip the plaster off and move on.”

Finally, Jamie and Barry come back to the real world and join the conversation. Their faces are red and Jamie is a bit out of breath when he says, “Mate, there’s no way we’re moving on just yet.”

James sighs sadly and leans back against the counter, his arms crossed in front of his chest. “Alright, let’s hear it.”

“Hear what?” Barry asks.

“Whatever it is you’re gonna say,” Mike explains. He schools his face into a mask of indifference even as his tone turns bitter and annoyed. “You’re stupid, you’re fired, you’re going to ruin Sorted. You know.”

Ben frowns, “We wouldn’t say that.”

James stays silent and Mike continues on, still angry, “Then what is it?”

“I wanted to say I’m happy for you,” Jamie offers, and his kind smile takes the wind out of Mike’s sails. Mike leans back against the counter now as well, though he’s not sure if it’s to get away from the others or to get closer to James.

“Me too,” Barry adds, gently punching Mike’s arm in a friendly gesture. “Good job.”

Mike isn’t sure what he’s being congratulated for but he says “thanks” anyway. James looks at Ben for his response and his fellow chef is grinning back at him.

“I can’t say I didn’t see this coming,” Ben starts. “But I didn’t expect it to happen this way.”

James chuckles a little, “Yeah, neither did we.”

There’s a contemplative pause and then Jamie asks, “How long?”

Mike ducks his head a bit in an uncharacteristic moment of shyness before answering, “About a year.”

“A year?!” Barry exclaims in shock. Ben raises his eyebrows in an expression of his own surprise but stays quiet.

“C’mon, you’re gonna tell me everything,” Jamie decides, dragging Mike in the direction of the closest couch and settling in for what he hopes is a long talk. Jamie is a hopeless romantic, what can he say? 

Barry follows after, also curious about the details, and then it’s just Ben and James. James feels less awkward and intimidated when it’s just Ben, so he simply gives him a challenging look from across the small cooking area. Ben spends a moment choosing his words carefully, before finally settling on, “Be good to him, okay?” 

James looks over to where Mike is squeezed between Barry and Jamie on the one-person sofa (he refuses to call it a loveseat, no matter how much Mike insists) and he can’t control how big he smiles.

“I will,” he replies and Ben didn’t have to hear it out loud to know that it was true.

Ben reaches up to ruffle his hair, feeling particularly big-brother-y in the moment, and James is so offended at the treatment he shoves at Ben—maybe a little too roughly given the way Ben stumbles back a few steps. James scurries away before Ben can retaliate and attempts to save Mike from his interrogation, but instead he gets dragged down onto the couch and added to the weird cuddle pile they have going. He feels awkward and Barry’s bony legs are hurting his back, but Mike is smiling easy and he smiles back, glad that this dysfunctional family brought them together.


End file.
